Planting Your Herbs and Lemon Balm Recipes

Once you have chosen the site of your garden and planned where your herbs will go, you are ready to prepare your soil! Preparing your soil, or amending soil, often involves drainage. To improve drainage, you can add compost or gravel as needed. The type of soil in your garden will help determine what needs to be added. One thing to keep in mind: good drainage is essential!

A few additional things to keep in mind when planting your herb garden:

• Do not put fertilizer in your planting hole.
• Dig the hole as deep and twice as wide as the pot your herb came in.
• Before you place your plant in the ground, break up the root ball to help the roots spread into the surrounding soil.
• Once you fill the hole, do not mound soil around the stem of the herb, which can cause rot.
• Water the herb gently once planted, and then determine a regular watering schedule.

For specific questions about amending the soil in your area and watering schedules, contact the local Master Gardeners' group in your area. Here's a link to search from the American Horticulture Society: http://www.ahs.org/master_gardeners/

Now use your herbs daily! Herbs included in the daily diet have been shown to support optimal health and wellness, and improve the color, flavor, and variety of dishes! Lemon balm, for example, has a somewhat sweet, honeylike, citrus flavor that can easily be added to a tea blend. Its lemon-like scent also makes a good addition to fruit salads, deserts (like sorbet), and as a flavoring for grains. Traditionally, lemon balm has been used as a digestive aid and is very easy to incorporate into the diet. It's fresh, young leaves can even be added to a salad raw!

Don't have a full-sized garden? No problem. Check out "Growing Herbs in Pots" for great tips from ACHS SVP and Master Gardener Erika Yigzaw.

Growing vegetables relieves stress and financial strain

When tough economic times hit, our collective money belts cinch tighter and tighter. People stop looking for entertainment out of doors and hunker down for the at-home experience, including eating in.

Yet—there is a silver lining. Although the current economy may cause us to make the move from sidewalk café to sideboard jockey (for a while), there is much to gain along the way. Say hello to stress relief. It may sound counterintuitive—“I’m stressed because everyone is stressed, so I should be frugal and grocery shop and stay home and cook my own dinner.”

But, cooking—and by extension, growing your own food—is an age-old holistic health practice, which promotes relaxation by shifting your focus from mental worry to physical exertion. As anxiety chills, your immune system and cardiovascular systems work better (otherwise known as, “I feel good.”)

It’s a win-win. You feel better AND your wallet feels better, because GIY (grow-it-yourself) gardening gives you fresh vegetables at a fraction of the store-bought price.

How do you get started?

Seed starting. True, you can also save money with month-old plants from your local nursery or home-supply store, but why would you? Seeds are a fraction of the price and produce more of what you want—lots’o’veggies.

One of the best ways to seed start, according to Master Gardener and ACHS Senior Vice President Erika Yigzaw, is with a seedling heat mat. These mats are portable and lightweight (which means apartment friendly), and allow you to bottom water, minimize the risk of mold.

Seed starting, Yigzaw shared at the ACHS Organic Gardening workshop March 21, has several personal and health benefits:

• It’s fun and easy.
• Fresh, on-hand food.
• You know where your food comes from (if you spend a little time researching your seeds and seed starting mix, you can be sure your food is organic, free of synthetic pesticide and chemicals).
• Saves money.
• Lengthens the growing season.

Start gardening...

1. Check the Farmer’s Almanac for your region to see when the last frost is scheduled to arrive.
2. Consult a gardening encyclopedia-type reference to see what veggies will grow best in your area. (In Oregon, the Oregon State University Master Gardener program is a good resource.)
3. Find your local, organic gardening store, where you can purchase your seeds, seedling starting mix, and seedling heat mat.
4. Read any and all instructions that come with your products.
5. When it is time to replant your seedlings into larger containers, re-use household materials like old plastic and/or ceramic planters, bowls, glasses, or tubs.
6. If you plan to transplant your veggies into larger plots, consult a local expert in advance. If you plan to build a container garden, the Gardener’s A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food is a very user-friendly resource.

Tip: Make sure the container is large enough to avoid root-bound plants. And, you will want to sterilize your containers in a 10% solution of bleach.

For questions about organic, at-home gardening, contact the OSU Master Gardeners or your local organization.

For information about personal nutrition, or holistic nutrition career training, contact the Australasian College of Health Sciences.